Yesterday, Kentucky Youth Advocates executive director Terry Brooks testified before members of the Joint Interim Health and Welfare Committee that the recent cuts to child care and kinship care assistance threaten public safety, education, the health and development of children, the economic security and the overall stability of families in ways that will cost Kentucky for years to come. Joining Terry to share her story was Sandra Flynn, a 60 year old registered nurse from [...]

  More than 1 in 4 children in Kentucky are now living in poverty, according to new Census Bureau data from the American Community Survey, released today. Child poverty in Kentucky increased to 26.5 percent in 2012 from 25.6 percent in 2009, bringing the total number of children who live in poverty to 263,819. The poverty threshold in 2012 for a family of four with two children means making an income below $23,283. These numbers [...]

While the national unemployment rate dropped to 7.3% last month (the lowest rate since 2008) the labor force participation rate also fell suggesting that thousands of Americans have dropped out of the labor force altogether. When considering these economic measures, it is important to keep in mind that not all jobs are created equal. The fastest growing job markets—retail, restaurants, and bars—tend to offer part-time employment with limited opportunities for advancement.  Nationally, more than eight [...]

This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Courier Journal. You can find it online here. For me, Labor Day is captured in two photographs. Each shows one of my grandfathers at his work.                 “Pa Brooks” stands in his Smoketown mechanic shop in the 1940s. He stands in a stained workers’ jumpsuit surrounded by a cadre of grinders, hoses and assorted work stations. The photo captures grit and [...]